1. Field of the Invention
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the present invention relate to playing content based on a last-watched-point of series content and, more particularly, to playing content by searching for information on a last-watched-point with respect to content that a user watched previously, by only searching with the selection of file name of an optional content when playing series content.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the introduction of personal video recorders (PVRs) and digital video recorders (DVRs) in the era of digital broadcasting, it is possible to watch a program at any time by storing it in digital form.
Many recording devices provide a reservation-recording function of an entire series (set of episodes) linked to an electronic program guide (EPG) service. Therefore, a user can record a series more easily.
Selection of a portion of a video, stored on the recording device (such as a PVR or a DVR), for viewing is performed by the user.
For example, if a user has recorded series content including a number of episodes, the user would want to watch the recorded material from the position where the user stopped watching.
In order to do this, the user may need to proceed through a series of selections in order to find and select the corresponding content within the recorded material. In addition, it is often inconvenient to have to find a desired portion of a recording via a predetermined movement, such as fast-forward or rewind.
Devices which provide a bookmark function have been made to solve these problems. However, the bookmark function could only be applied with respect to one file.
Korean Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-0034279 discloses an information reproduction system, an information recording system, and a recording medium used with the system. Control information is stored in a data area of the information recording medium. A to-be-reproduced video object is also stored on the information recording medium. The control information includes playback interrupt information for resuming playback, and an area of the information recording medium is provided for this process. This makes it possible to reproduce a picture corresponding to a specific portion of the content when playback has been interrupted, by referring to the playback interrupt information. The device then reproduces the content from a last watched position when the same disc is re-inserted therein by using the reproduction information. However, technology for reproducing the content from the last watched position by selecting an optional file form among a series of files stored as a series unit is not disclosed.